Akira no Yume
by EnchantedDreamweaver
Summary: Akira finds himself travelling between alternate realities and finds himself unable to return to his home world. As he travels, he begins to learn more about Sai and the enigma that is Hikaru Shindou. Fortunately for him it's all just a dream... or is it?
1. Chapter 1

Akira no Yume

A Hikaru no Go fanfic

Warnings: Rather mind-screwy, confusing and angsty. Also, Hikaru's a female in this story… for the most part. Set after Sai's disappearance and the Hokuto cup.

"Touya, watch out!"

"Wh-" brugh-ckiiiiitt-brraakkk

"SHINDOU!"

Akira's eyes flew open as he struggled against the blankets covering him, his heart pounding in his chest and a name threatening to escape from his throat. Oh, Kami, what happened? The last thing he remembered was crossing the street with Hikaru, a hydroplaning car speeding towards them, Hikaru shouting and pushing him out of the way and then-and then- Akira shuddered as he tried his best to forget Hikaru's twisted limbs and the pool of some wet, sticky red thing staining the asphalt…

Wait. Akira's senses kicked into full gear as he looked around. If the accident was real, he had to be in a hospital room or something but as he slowly became aware of where he was he found out that he was in his bedroom, in the Touya residence. His eyes found the digital alarm clock on his bedside table, and he realized that it was barely two in the morning and it was the fifth of May. Children's Day.

"Akira?" he heard someone knock on the door. "Are you fine, dear?" Touya Akiko asked her one and only son worriedly.

"I…" Akira opened his mouth before closing it. What should he say? He didn't want to lie to his mother, but he didn't want her to worry either. Finally he settled for a half-truth. "Just a dream, Mother. Nothing's wrong,"

"…I see." Akira had the sinking feeling that his mother had seen through his lie, but to his relief the Touya matriarch didn't push any further. "Well, try to get some sleep then. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Mother," he said, but he knew it was a half-truth at best. He wasn't fine. The dream had been an unpleasant surprise for him, and he sorely hoped that it would never come into realization. He covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths. He had to calm down. It wouldn't do for this dream to ruin his performance, and he sure as hell wouldn't let Hikaru beat him just because of a nightmare. Besides, it was just a dream, a horrifying, terrifyingly detailed and accurate dream but a dream nonetheless. Right?

_(He ignored the fact that he could still feel phantom barely-there-but-still-existent pains all over his body and that he'd begun to call her _Hikaru_, not_ Shindou_.)_

The next time they met, he wasn't sure whether to hug Hikaru in relief (and prove to himself that she was real and solid, not a figment of his imagination) or scream profanities at her for being three hours late to their appointment at the Meijin's go salon.

"Sorry, Touya. I, uhh, overslept." She had a silly cheeky grin on her face, one that made her look incredibly cute and made blood rush to Akira's cheeks.

"Really, Shindou? Either you fell asleep at five in the morning or you woke up really, really late. It's two PM, and we agreed to meet here at eleven," he said dryly, trying to hide his blush behind sarcasm. To which Hikaru sighed.

"Yeah, I know, lame excuse, but you're hardly the only one I have a promise with today." Akira had to fight back annoyance at how she so easily brushed him off as unimportant and tried to ignore the burn in his chest-_jealousy?- _as he realized that his rival preferred to spend time with other people.

"Fine, then. Just don't let it happen again," he said grudgingly. His bad mood didn't go unnoticed by Hikaru, who wisely decided to shut up and play go.

No less than half an hour later, Akira's frustation started to increase even more. Hikaru's play was really, really bad in comparison with her usual play. In fact he haven't seen her play this sloppily since before the Interschool Tournament, several years ago. His hands balled into fists and he glared at her.

"Dammit, Shindou, take me seriously!" he finally snapped at her in anger. "I haven't seen you play this bad in _years. _What happened to you?" he asked. Hikaru had a hurt look on her face.

"…Geez, Akira, if you wanted to play shogi you could've said so."

Akira was so dumbstruck at Hikaru's words that he couldn't say anything and could only watch as Hikaru picked up the go stones and placed them in the go-ke before pulling out a shogi set from her bag _(so that's what she'd been carrying all the time) _and placed them with graceful, fluid movements.

"How many handicaps do you want?" she asked. Akira, still shocked, couldn't say anything. "Fine, then. I'll give you three handicaps, like our last game." As she spoke she took away her lances and bishop. "You're black, I'm white. Go first."

Akira was in a partially numb state as he almost absent-mindedly moved one of his pawns forward. Hikaru instantly replied with another of her own. His mind was still spinning from what Hikaru had said earlier.

_What… I don't get it. Is this a dream or something? Yes, this has to be a dream. The Hikaru I know never mentioned shogi except for that time when she spoke about her friend, Kaga, I think. Yes… this is a dream. But how can I wake up…? _Akira's eyes widened as Hikaru captured one of his pawns effortlessly. _Alright Akira, get yourself together. Even if this is just a dream, you can't let Hikaru win! She's your rival, after all. Shogi might be very different from go, but they are both strategy games. _He grimaced as Hikaru expertly led him to a trap, and without him even realizing! His eyes narrowed. _Even in this dream-world… even in shogi she is still a formidable opponent. But I won't go down without a fight! _A fire started to burn in Akira's eyes as he began to understand Hikaru's playing style. He began to see some of the subtler, more dangerous traps.

His eyes widened as he saw Hikaru made a very stupid mistake. Akira grinned to himself and happily captured Hikaru's bishop. Capitalizing on that decisive movement, Akira began to tear through Hikaru's defenses.

"I had a strange dream last night," Hikaru finally spoke. It was the first time any of them made a sound since they began the shogi game. Without waiting for Akira to speak, she continued, "I dreamed that I became a vampire."

A pause. "You mean, one of those sparkly, ice-cold marble statues? You dreamt about becoming one of them?" Akira asked incredulously. Hikaru made a disguted blanch.

"Please. Like I'd want to be one of those… things," she shuddered. "No I meant the traditional, burn-in-sunlight kind of vampire. It took sunburn to a whole new level." As if to emphasize her point, Hikaru mercilessly captured Akira's left lance and used it as her own.

"Ah. What were your parent's reaction?"

"Rather nice, actually. It turned out that the world in my dream was filled with all sorts of supernatural things… like youkai, werewolves, and even _ghosts._"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. And I met the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai," Hikaru's voice had a dream-like quality, and spoke the name with the reverence real-world Hikaru would say 'Honinbo Shuusaku'. "He was… amazing. One of the greatest shogi player to ever live… and I met him face-to-face." However, this went unheard by Akira as he nearly choked on the glass of water he was drinking.

"S-sai? Fujiwara-no-Sai? Is that his name?"

"Uh-huh. I didn't know you were so familiar with him, Touya. Actually, not a lot of shogi players nowadays study his records."

"Oh, I'm familiar with him, alright," Akira wanted to say, but he wisely decided not to say anything. "I think I've heard his name somewhere." _That can't be right! Sai is a Go player, not Shogi! Then again… this is a dream, right? _"Is that why you 'overslept'? You didn't want to wake up, did you?" Akira asked.

"Eheheh, you've got me."

"Hm. Well, I had a strange dream last night too. You were a go professional like me, and my rival," Akira decided to tell her part of the truth. At this Hikaru snorted.

"Yeah, right, like that'd ever happen," she said. Akira felt like someone had torn his heart to shreds. "I'll always be a shogi player no matter what!" she declared proudly, not even caring that she was in a go salon. "Besides, my grandfather was the former Ryu-oh. It's in my blood." Seeing Akira's confusion, she explained, "Ryu-oh is a shogi title, one of the most prestigious ones in fact. It's like our version of the Honinbou title." She looked down at the board and moved her promoted rook a few squares forward. "Checkmate, Akira. Your king's dead."

He would be lying if he said he saw _that _coming.

AN: Ok, so the first chapter of my first HikaGo story is up. What do you guys think? This is just a set-up for the future chapters. I don't think it'll be very long. Maybe ten chapters or so. Yes, Akira likes Hikaru, he just doesn't realize it. All of the things said about shogi in this chapter is real, Ryu-oh is a real Shogi title. There are professional shogi players in Japan just like go.


	2. Chapter 2

Akira no Yume

A Hikaru no Go fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go, it is the property of Hotta and Obata.

Chapter 2

Akira stared at the shogi board in front of him. He'd been so distracted, he didn't even realize the dire position his king was in. But Hikaru had him in a cornered position, no way out. With dismay, Akira realized that her seemingly stupid move several hands before had been the foundation for the curent position.

_Well, who knew? Even in shogi she still has traces of her go style, _Akira mused. Hikaru had lured him into a trap designed to lure Akira into a position that would benefit Hikaru no matter what hand he played. He stared at the shogi-ban with fierce intensity, trying to comprehend the beauty of Hikaru's ploy. Even though he wasn't well-versed in shogi, he knew the basics and he knew a good player when he saw one. His eyes scanned the board, desperately looking for a way out. Either he wasn't a good enough player to escape this trap, or he was well and truly in Hikaru's vice-like trap. He doubted it was the former, so he lowered his head and whispered a soft "makemashita…".

Without saying a thing Akira stood up, his bangs obscuring his eyes and walked away leaving Hikaru alone to tidy up the mess. As he passed the receptionist he heard Ichikawa-san say, "Akira-kun…? What's wrong, did Shindou just trounce you in shogi again?" He ignored the chill that ran up his spine at those words and hastily left.

His next destination was an internet café not far from his house. He opened a search engine site and typed the keywords 'Shindou Hikaru shogi player'. He clicked 'search' and the page was filled with thousands of webpage links containing the results. One of the words caught Touya's interest and nearly causing him to choke, it was a headline of some kind of shogi electronic newsletter announcing 'Shindou Hikaru- Future Meijin?'

Apparently Hikaru was a new promising shogi star who just entered the pro world several years ago. Her grandfather was the former Ryu-oh title holder, one of the most prestigious shogi titles in Japan. He was rather shocked to learn that there were titles like Meijin and Ouza in the shogi world. He _knew, _ofcourse, that there were professional shogi players just like in the go world, but he didn't know the full extent of it. He supposed that he was rather narrow-minded in that particular area, after all if there were people who played go and chess for a living why wouldn't there be shogi players as well?

_Please, please, Kami-sama, please let all of this be a dream, _Akira silently prayed. He needed his rival, dammit, what would he do without someone to help him reach the Kami no Itte? Fuming inwardly Akira left the internet café. He never saw the name 'SAI' discussed, his kifu talked about on the NetGo forums and neither did he see 'SAI' challenging him for a game…

Akira sighed as he walked towards the Nihon Ki-in. Golden Week was finally over, and he was scheduled for a Honinbou league 2nd preliminary against one Isumi Shinichirou. His mind was still reeling over what had happened several days ago. He'd done some research and found that Isumi had passed on the same year Hikaru did, or would have as it was in this case, without any losses. He was inwardly seething. Hikaru was the one he was supposed to face today, dammit, not Isumi. While he couldn't deny the fact that Isumi was talented, he just didn't possess the same spark Hikaru did.

The more upsetting thing was that he was still trapped in this strange dream-world. No matter what he did, it seemed that he couldn't find a way _out. _He'd pinched himself, punched himself, bashed his head against the wall (he reasoned that since this was a dream, his real body won't be harmed anyway but apparently it didn't work that way and _damn, _it hurt), he'd even tried taking sleeping pills to see if it somehow had a contrary effect and woke him up (he'd found out years ago that his dreams were weird even by the standards of a dream and logic never worked the same way as it did in the real world). Obviously none of them worked. Akira was getting rather desperate, and a desperate Akira was a dangerous one.

Thus, the match he had against Isumi Shinichirou 2-dan was a total slaughter. He mercilessly attacked him, cutting through his defenses like they were nothing and destroyed any hopes of opposition. While Isumi put up a great fight, he just wasn't on Touya's level yet and while the son of the Meijin was sure that he would eventually reach his level, he still had ways to go.

"Makemashita…" Isumi lowered his head in defeat, still overwhelmed by his crushing defeat. Touya had simply gone over and above him, claiming three-quarters of the board and defeating him by over fifteen moku. Touya merely nodded stiffly leaving the room without looking back at Isumi, leaving him alone to stare at the goban.

Never before had Isumi been crushed so mercilessly by a player his age, and though he knew Touya Akira's skill level was above him he couldn't fathom until now just how far apart they were in terms of strength. It gave him the urge to shiver and whimper in fear. Isumi, by his very nature, was _not _a confident person and all it took to steal away his painstakingly-built self confidence was one crushing defeat.

"Isumi? Are you alright?" he heard a question. He looked up into the green eyes of Shindou Hikaru, his best friend and sort-of girl friend. Hikaru and Isumi had met several years ago, when Isumi's shogi-obsessed friend had dragged him to a tournament after he lost a bet. They met each other and became close acquaintances. It was only in the last few months that their relationship had progressed into something… more. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to go to the boyfriend/girlfriend stage, though.

Besides, Shindou Masao was a scary man. The last time they met, he was holding a baseball bat and told Isumi in no uncertain terms that if he ever let anything happen to Hikaru, he would experience first hand why Masao was dubbed 'The Devil Batter' during highschool.

"I'm fine," Isumi said, putting up a fake smile. Hikaru snorted.

"Like hell you are. What happened? Did you lose your game today?"

"Yeah. I did. Touya… he totally trounced me, destroyed me like a bug." Isumi let out a sigh. Next to him, Hikaru let out a sound of… resignation?

"He did a real number on him, didn't he? Grr… that Touya, when I meet him again…" Hikaru sighed. "But, Isumi, you're not usually like this. Even with a defeat you take it in stride and keep going. What happened?" she asked. Isumi chewed on his bottom lip for a while before answering,

"I don't know… It's just, Akira's so far above me and I'm so far behind. Waya, Ochi, even Nase and Fuku are starting to catch up to me. I don't know if I'm strong enough to keep running, to chase after Touya, Kurata, Ogata, and other pros," he confessed meekly with a tinge of frustration in his voice.

"…Idiot."

"Huh?"

"If you keep up thinking like that you'll never get any better!" Hikaru snapped. "Being confident is half the battle, knowing the enemy is another! Even if he defeats you so easily, don't get discouraged. It's just another hurdle to overcome, another milestone to surpass. Touya might have trounced you, Isumi-kun, but the next time you meet him in a match, the next time you fight him, you'll be the one who'll defeat him!"

It never ceased to amaze Isumi how Shindou managed to cheer up people so easily with nothing but a few words. It also reminded him of how painfully _naïve _about the go world she was. She could replay a shogi that took place years ago, with perfect recall, and recite the statistic of recent shogi matches, but when it came to daily life and non-Shogi related stuff... well the less said the better.

"Hi-ka-ru," he said exasperatedly, "this is Touya Akira we're talking about. His father is the Meijin, he's spent his entire childhood studying go, he could've probably passed the pro exams at the age of eight, and he passed said exams without any losses!"

"So? You passed the exams without any losses too! You're as good as him. Who cares if his daddy is the Meijin? He doesn't help him in his matches does he?"

"Ofcourse not!" Isumi looked at Hikaru like she'd just committed utter blasphemy by just _suggesting _such a thing. "Still, I've heard that his skill can rival higher dans, and he's been trained practically since birth."

"…Won't a toddler eat the go stones?" Hikaru asked with a tilt of her head and a quizzical eyebrow raised. "I mean, that's very irresposible of him to let a newborn around small things like go stones." Isumi had to resist the urge to smack his forehead in exasperation. As usual, Hikaru had Completely Missed the Point (and yes, Isumi felt that it did merit the capitals just because of how often she did this, especially when dealing with non-shogi related topics).

"That's not my point! What I'm trying to say is, that Touya is about as skilled in go as you are in shogi, and he even comes from a family of go players. His father probably coaches him every night," Isumi said in despair.

"Bah, humbug! Go or shogi has nothing to do with familial relationship. In front of a board, we're all equal no matter what gender, age, or race. The only difference is in our skill." Hikaru proclaimed. "If you can't do something, do it again. And again. And again. Eventually you'll be just as good as that Touya, I'm sure of it! So don't let me down, okay?"

Did he mention how her motivational speeches never ceased to amaze him? He probably had, but this deserved a special mention.

"So go and shogi are the great equalizers, huh?" Isumi joked. Truthfully, he felt a lot better after Hikaru's words of encouragements. Hikaru hid a smile behind her shoulder-length hair. She was happy to see Isumi cheering up.

_Now how to build up that awful confidence of him…_

_But that can wait. She had a victim to torture. No one messes with her friends, not even Touya Akira._

AN: Muahahaha, Akira's in trouble ; ) Please note the changes to the timeline in this 'dream-world' that happened because Hikaru didn't enter the go world. In this 'dream-world', Isumi's forfeiture against Hikaru in the pro exam did not happen, so he didn't suffer the consecutive string of losses. Hence, no going to China and no meeting Yang Hai. That's also why Isumi's confidence is still so low; he hasn't learned how to control his emotions while playing. I hope you understand.

Wahh, only one reviewer? I'm _hurt. _I need people to review and give me feedback. How can I improve as a writer if no one tells me how to improve? Please, people, review….


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

If one force-fed Touya Akira with truth serum and asked him what he feared the most, there would be two answers.

Loosing anything related to go and angry woman, like his mother or Shindou Hikaru. Especially his mother and Shindou Hikaru.

Touya Akiko was the perfect picture of a Japanese housewife. She was calm, collected, and an incredibly competent person when it came to household chores. She took care of the Touya residence by herself without help from servants or maids, and was a loving wife and mother. She doted upon her husband and son, supporting their decision to pursue he Hand of God. From the outside, she might not seem much, just like any other house wife in the world.

Yet Touya Meijin, Akira, and most of their close acquaintances knew better than to dismiss her. Behind her mild-mannered exterior was a formidable lioness who would pounce on anyone who dared to harm her or her family. Akira remembered all too well one time when a burglar had snuck into their house. He was but eight years old at the time, and his father was away participating in a tournament. His mother, always a light sleeper, had woke up and apprehended the poor bastard. When he'd tried to threaten Akira's safety… well, Akiko didn't take it lightly. When the police arrived the thief was unconscicous on the ground, Akiko holding a frying pan with a face-shaped indentation on it.

"I'm not going to face assault charges for this, am I?" she had asked with a sweet smile on her face. Akira would never admit unless under duress, but personally he thought her smile was rather demonic and scary.

That incident, though, paled in what he was facing right now. Shindou Hikaru had a stony expression on her usually smiling face. Akira felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead.

_What did I do wrong? She looks like I just spat on her ancestor's grave or something. No… more like the time Yeong Ha insulted Shuusaku. What terrifying battle aura. _He tried to suppress a shiver as she slammed a portable goban between them and took a handful of stones.

"Nigiri!" she snapped, and Akira picked up two black stones. She revealed the stones in her hand. Odd. He would be white then. They traded bowls and exchanges the customary 'onegaishimasu'.

They were only thirty or so hands into the game, but Akira could already feel the sweat running down his brow. While his own moves were solid Hikaru played surprising moves to counter his experience. His eyes scanned the board, playing different scenarios in his mind and making sure that he wasn't about to be ensnared in one of Hikaru's traps again. Hikaru placed down a stone and Akira had to stiffle a gasp. If he didn't do anything soon the cluster at the corner would definitely die. It was brilliant. He had to-

_Bip-bip-bip-bip. _His musings were broken by the sound of Hikaru's cellphone, telling her that a new message had arrived. Akira frowned. Didn't she knew that it was only polite to turn off your cellphone while playing? Hikaru ignored his frown and quickly took out the offending device in question. She glanced at the screen before paling rapidly. Her emerald green eyes widened in surprise, and her entire body began to tremble.

"Hikaru? What's wrong?" Akira asked. Hikaru abruptly rose from her seiza position but accidentally knocked the goban causing the stones to spill from their formation. "Hikaru? Hey, Hikaru, tell me what's wrong?"

"M-my grandfather…" she said hoarsely, as if trying to hold back tears. "Akira, my grandfather's got a heart attack."

The day of Shindou Heihachi's funeral, it rained.

The Hikaru Akira knew was a cheerful girl who never complained, never whined, and always helped everybody at her own expense. She never let anyone see her sadness, except for the periode of depression when she forfeited all of her matches. Like a strong pillar, never bending under the strain, never cracking.

Therefore, it was rather… jarring to see her openly shed tears and cry. He supposed it was justified, though. It was no shame to cry at the loss of one's parental figure. Akira was ashamed to admit that he didn't really know Hikaru as well as he thought he did, and he didn't really know how to offer emotional support to someone. So he did the best thing he could, standing next to her awkwardly as she finished letting out her feelings of grief and loss. Akira's own grandparents had died long before he could meet them, so he couldn't really understand Hikaru's loss.

After the funeral, everyone returned home, while Akira followed Hikaru to Shindou Heihachi's now uninhabited house. Hikaru never complained or objected to Akira's presence so he supposed it was OK for her. She seemed to be comforted by his presence, too. Quietly they entered the house. The first thing Akira noticed was the numerous trophies, all of them from Shogi tournaments and awards. Akira could feel the love Shindo Heihachi had for the game. It was like the aura his own father emanated whenever he played go.

The second thing Akira noted was the goban sitting in the corner of the sitting room. It was a real goban, made of authentic kaya wood, the kind a collector would pay a pretty yen for. He wondered what it was doing in the house of a shogi player. Further inspection showed that the board was well-cared for, not a speck of dust covering its surface. The lines upon its surface was slightly faded proving that it wasn't just an ornament to be displayed but it had been used continuously in the past. Hikaru let out a small smile at that and slowly, gently, as if handling a newborn, she lifted the goban and and placed it between the two of them. She picked up the two mulberry go stone containers and placed it on the tatami.

"Hey, 'Kira, play a game with me?" she asked. Without asking for Akira's acceptance she handed the container to Akira and opened hers. "I'l go first, is that alright for you?" she asked as she placed her first stone on the lower left star point. The sharp pa-chi! sound made as Hikaru placed the stone jerked Akira out of his reverie. He looked down and picked up his stone, placing it on the upper left hoshi. Hikaru quickly countered it with her own.

They continued their game in silence as each other coyly tried to test the other's boundaries, trying to figure out where to attack. There wasn't any aggressive moves on either side, just a peaceful play. It was Hikaru who finally decided to break the confortable silence between them.

"A long, long time ago," she began, and Akira wondered if Hikaru was going to tell him a fairy tale, "lived a Heian era nobleman who went by the name of Fujiwara no Sai. Like all noblemen, Sai was taught the Four Accomplishments. Go, archery, poetry, and playing the lute. Fujiwara no Sai was quick to absorb the teachings, yet there was one he had found his heart in. Go attracted him like nothing else, and soon he began to be known as a Go prodigy. Rising in the ranks of nobility, Fujiwara no Sai found himself as the Emperor's Go tutor, a very high ranking indeed." Akira's interest was piqued at the story of this unknown Go master especially at the name Fujiwara no Sai. Didn't Hikaru mention him as one of the greates shogi player to ever exist?

"But there was another go player, just as skilled as Fujiwara no Sai, who also acted as the Emperor's tutor. Fear of Sai's abilities soon poisoned his mind and he began plotting Sai's downfall." Ah. Jealousy. Akira found himself sympathizing however slightly with Fujiwara no Sai' unknown rival. He could certainly relate to it, he couldn't count how many times he had been jealous of his own father's accomplishments. Go players were only human, after all, not gods, and they could fall to such trappings such as emotions very easily.

"One day, he proposed to the emperor, saying that there was no need to have more than one co tutor. He offered to have an official match between him and Sai, where the victor would remain as the Emperor's tutor." Akira had to stop himself from frowning here. Why wasn't he happy at the prospect of a worthy opponent, a worthy rival? After all, that was the only way to reach the Kami no Itte, by having a devoted rival by your side to push you and help you strive to become the best.

"On the day of the match, it was a tense affair. It was a battle to determine which one would live and stay at the Palace and which one would be kicked out of Kyoto. So tense, in fact, that no-one had noticed the sole black stone that was mixed in the opponent's white bowl. He used it to his advantage, and being the sneaky bastard he was he took it and placed it with the other captured black stones. When Sai opened his mouth to complain, he accused Sai of cheating instead." Akira was downright livid, and he could sense the agitation in Hikaru's voice as well. How dare he cheat at go… and for such a petty reason as well! Cheating in go, how shameful.

Pa-chi. Pa-chi.

"The Emperor told them to quiet down and calmly told them to continue the match. But Sai's concentration had been destroyed – he could no longer focus on the match. He lost the game, and was banished from the Capital. He wandered around for a few days before finally deciding to commit suicide by drowning himself."

Pa-chi. Pa-chi. Akira felt that he could understand Fujiwara-no-Sai's feelings. Go was his entire world and he would never abandon it. He understood why he would die for a simple boardgame.

"Unfortunately, or maybe in this case, fortunately, he was found by a random passerby. She saved him and nursed him back to health. His body recovered, but alas, his soul did not. He lost the purpose in his life; to play Go.

"Until one day, the woman's father returned. He was a merchant, returning from mainland China. Among the goods he brought with him was a shogi set. The woman took it upon herself to teach Sai how to play shogi. Slowly, his spirit and mind began to recover and the bright spark within his soul was relit once more. And thus a legend was born.

"But Fujiwara no Sai's story did not end there. Several years later, Sai's old opponent, the cheater, was discovered of his treachery. The furious emperor immediately threw him out and invited Sai back to the palace. He returned, bringing with him the woman who had saved him from te throes of darkness several years ago as a wife. The Fujiwara clan was rather unpleased that one of their kinsmen had married a commoner, but Sai was steadfast in his loyalty to his wife. Finding no other solution, they agreed to keep Sai and his descendants in the palace, but only as retainers. They were forced to adopt another name. Shindou." As if to accentuate her words, Hikaru placed down her stone on the board. Akira was jerked out of his mesmerization and looked down on the goban. His eyes widened as he set his eyes on the intricate patterns that had began to form.

'_This… how could have I missed this…? So beautiful, so exquisite. Hikaru, just who are you?' _Akira looked at Hikaru who was sitting in front of him in perfect seiza. He hadn't lost, but from now on he had to be careful in where he had to put down the stones. He lifted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"You're obviously no beginner. You have the ability of a pro, maybe a 3-dan, or 4-dan," Akira stated. Hikaru gave him a 'so, what?' look. "You can be a pro, you know."

"But I don't _want_ to." Hikaru shrugged carelessly. Somewhy her nonchalant attitude… irked him. He had years to hone his skills to his level right now. That Hikaru managed to reach his level so easily made him angry. It just wasn't right. It felt like an insult, like a slap to his face. He had to stop himself from making a biting remark.

"But… why…? This kind of skill isn't something you gain overnight. I refuse to accept that you're just an amateur!" he seethed.

"Well, it's actually somewhat of a tradition in my family to learn go or shogi… in fact, from every generation there's at least one professional player." Hikaru's eyes were glazed over and faraway. Then she let out a sigh. "Let's continue our game, shall we?"

The following fifteen minutes was a tense battle on the goban, with both players trying to attack and accumulate more and more territories. Akira began a ko fight on the top left corner of the board forcing Hikaru to abandon the large cluster on the bottom, but she managed to gain several additional points and retaliated by threatening Akira's position in the bottom left. Their battle aura was practically palpable. As the game entered yose, their game started to cool down slightly as they battled for every last scrap of territory they could gain. Finally the game ended as Hikaru placed down her last stone on Tengen. The origin of Heaven. Akira's eyes scanned the board as they counted territories. As fierce as the battle was, there could only be one winner and it was clear.

"I have lost," Akira said, lowering his head in defeat. Hikaru let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"That was a good game, Akira." The boy in question looked down at the board. Yes. It was a good game. Amazing, even. He wondered how far Hikaru would progress if she entered the Go world. Such a beautiful game, such complex stratagems and maneuvers. It was the closest taste of the Hand of God Akira had ever felt.

And he wanted more. He wanted his rival back, Shindou Hikaru the 2-dan professional go player not Shindou Hikaru the 7-dan shogi player and soon-to-be challenger for the Kioh title. How could he find the hand of god without Hikaru? To reach Kami no Itte you had to be the perfect player with a perect opponent who knew you better than anyone else. He'd seen amazing players wither and die because of the lack of a proper challenge. Secretly he pitied his father who had no rival, no one to puch him and race with him towards the perfect move. The God of Go must be very lonely indeed.

"Why…?" he asked, trying to hold back tears. "Why, Hikaru…? Why do you insist so much on not becoming a pro? You have skill most people would require years to attain and yet you insist on not honing your ability?" he asked. Hikaru bit her lips and looked at him.

"Fine, I'll tell you why," she said in resignation. "When I was six years old, the company my father worked at had a restructurization due to the financial losses it suffered after the economic crisis. My father was demoted, and along with the rank went a lot of his paycheck. Mother had to take several jobs in order to have enough money for food and the bills. They were rarely at home, if at all. So I spent most of my time at school and here, at Grandpa's house. I'd only return home at night to sleep and go here straight after school. During the holidays I'd sleep over and never step inside my house at all. So as you might guess, Grandpa started teaching me shogi.

"At first I was only in for the money. I was still young and naïve, and very very lonely. I knew my family was poor and I missed being with my parents. So I hoped that, maybe, if I could make some money too, maybe my parents wouldn't have to work so hard and we could be a happy family again." Hikaru let out a tired laugh. "Obviously it didn't work that way. I was aiming so hard to be a professional to start making money that I didn't really put any heart or feelings into playing. The first time I played with my grandpa, he totally trashed me. I was so shocked and disappointed in myself that I left Grandpa's house crying and locked myself in my room. For the next few days I refused to go to Grandpa's again but after a week or so I decided to stop crying and returned back stubbornly. He kept trashing me again and again and again but I was too pig-headed to know defeat. Or I was just too stupid to realize the miles, no, light years between us. I said to him that I would defeat him one day and strip away his titles from him.

"As I said I was just a foolish little girl, hurt, confused, and lonely. It was one of those promises made by children, stupid and unrealistic, but unlike most adults Grandfather took me seriously. He asked me if I meant it and being the stubborn brat I was, I said yes. That was the day he started _truly _teaching me shogi. I was so happy, so gleeful. I still had my hopes up, you see, and I really wanted for my family to return back to what it was.

"Things got better when I was in third grade. My father was promoted, which far lessened Mom's burden. She was no longer away all the time. Sometimes, if I was lucky, she would actually cook some food for me instead of takeaways or instants. Dad's workload increased heavily, but sometimes he could take a break on weekends and holidays to take us to an amusement park or other places. We were so happy… and I forgot everything about shogi.

"Then when I was in fourth grade, my father went on a business trip to Hokkaido. Before he left, he told me the story about Fujiwara no Sai and brought me a shogi set." Hikaru had a wistful smile on her face. "He said that he was so proud of me for continuing our ancestor's legacy, and that he would support everything I do to pursue my dreams. He wanted to be a shogi player too, you see, but just wasn't talented enough.

"It was the last time I saw him alive, or saw him at all for that matter. Two days later, we received a call saying that he died in a plane crash. There weren't any survivors, but fortunately they managed to identify his remains. His body so badly disfigured and burned that the authorities decided cremated him and sent us his ashes. After Dad died, Mom left me under Grandpa's charge and returned to her relatives in Kansai. I suppose his death was just too much for her to bear, and she didn't want to raise a child by her own. I still saw her from time to time, but our relationship was cordial at best. I never really forgave her for leaving me just like that. I… It hurt so much, my mom leaving me like that. I was left wondering if I wasn't good enough for her, or whether if I was smarter,better behaved, then she wouldn't leave me like that. I don't know if I still love her, or if I hate her. I guess it's both." By the end of her story, Hikaru had begun sobbing like a lost little girl who didn't know what to do or where to go.

"But why…? I still don't understand. You could be a great player, Hikaru! Why won't you even consider joining?"

"…Dammit, Touya, why won't you understand?" she asked angrily. "Shogi is all I have left of my family. I've lost my dad, my mom, my grandfather. I won't loose my shogi too!" she exclaimed. "My grandfather… my father… my ancestor… I won't loose the last connection I have to them! So stop telling me to join the world of go professionals, because I won't! I won't abandon everything I have just for a stupid game!" she cried. "Don't you understand, Akira? I've lost everything. My family, my parents, everything! Shogi is the only thing I have left."

"Hikaru, I-"

"Get out of my sight, Akira. Leave me alone!" Hikaru said. "Get out! Out!" she all but dragged Akira to the foyer, opened the door, and heaved him outside. The door slammed shut and Akira could hear the sound of the door being locked. He sighed. It was still raining, though it had been reduced into a soft drizzle. And he left his umbrella at Hikaru's place. It didn't seem that she would allow Akira inside anytime soon.

'_Well, fuck,' _Akira mentally cursed. His rival had no intention of returning to the go world and would probably never see him again. He wasn't so surprised, though. It seemed that Shogi meant everything to Hikaru… well, this dream-world version of Hikaru He sighed again. Kami, it hurt so much being discarded like dirty laundry. This Hikaru probably wouldn't give him a second glance. He never realized how much their rivalry meant to him, never realized how much Hikaru had grown on him. It felt like a part of his heart had been torn out and drifted into oblivion leaving a gaping, empty, bottomless hole where it was supposed to be.

It hurt. It hurt so much that he nearly couldn't breathe. The only thing he could hear was the thumping of his heart in his chest, speeding like a car. He was getting dizzy and breathless. He wanted something, anything to soothe the ache that wouldn't go away.

But then again, was his own happiness worth sacrificing Hikaru's? She'd lost everything she held dear save for her shogi, while Akira still had his parents. Rivals could be found (not replaced, but found) but there was no replacing a dead man. He'd seen how her eyes shone as she talked about shogi, how she told the tale of Fujiwara-no-Sai like an oft-recited fairytale. He'd seen just how deep her love for her profession was. She loved shogi like Akira loved go.

No. It wasn't worth it. Hikaru deserved her own happy ending. If this made her happy then what was Akira's right to interfere, to force her to abandon what she loved? No, he would not make her cry again like she did today, not if he could help it.

Akira was jerked out of his musings as he heard a scream of 'watch out!' and claxoning from a car. He turned around sharply to see the headlights of a truck speeding towards him and froze, instinctively holding his hands in front of him as if to cushion the blow. His vision flashed red as the vehicle hit him at full speed and he was hurled into the air. His last thought before his vision turned black was 'I'm sorry… Hikaru…'

AN: Whew, that was intense. Don't worry, Akira's not dead. I still have a lot of things planned for him. Poor guy. If torturing fictional characters was a crime I'd be serving years of punishment. Anyways, how did you like the chapter? Heh, I bet no one saw that talk with Hikaru coming. Sorry for the long wait… I got lost on the road of life? Heheh, lame excuse. But I've been delving into other franchises lately, so you can expect to see some other fics from me from time to time.

Gah, the last scene was so cliched. I'm sorry but I didn't have any other way to end it. You'll see my reason for that in future chapters. There's a reason why Akira hadn't woke up from his 'dream' and you'll see.

See y'all soon, in chapter 4.

Teaser for future chapters:

"Modern physics say that for every action we take, for every choice we make, a new alternate universe is created where things went differently. Sometimes I wonder… what would happen if I took another choice?" –Touya Kouyo

"Honestly, Akira-san, you're so naïve. Do you honestly think that things in life work the way they do in Go? That's why you'll never be like me." -?

"Tell me, young wanderer, what is your purpose?"-?


End file.
